Knitted fabric



June 25, 1940.

A. 5. STAFF KNITTED FABRIC Filed Dec. 8, 1959 2 Sheeis-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 45mm 5, Jfa/f BY P 'howh ATTORNEYS A. 5. STAFF KNITTED FABRIC June 25, 1940.

Filed Dec. 8, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR le/fr; /296 ATTO RNEY5 Patented June 25, 1940 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to knitted fabrics, and particularly to a type of fabric usually designated netting, which is largely employed in millinery and for other similar purposes.

5 The netting heretofore available has been manufactured abroad on so-called lace machines or bobbin-net machines. It is a fabric characterized by small regular meshes of hexagonal form,

and may be constructed of rayon, silk, cotton or other suitable thread. The labor cost of operating lace machines is so high as to preclude the use of such machines in this country for the manufacture of material of the class described. Consequently, the only available source of the material has been in countries where wages were suiliciently low to permit economic production.

It is the object of the present invention to provide netting simulating the product of lace machines but having an entirely different structure resulting from the manufacture of the material on knitting machines. While the structure resulting from knitting, that is to say, the arrangement of the threads in the fabric is entirely different. from the product of the lace machine, the fabric after it is dyed and finished simulates the lace machine product in appearance so closely that the difference can be detected only by experts. Knitting machines require much less labor cost and can be operated economically in this country, thus affording the possibility of a new. industry.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood by reference to the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an enlarged diagrammatic illustration of the arrangement of the threads forming the new fabric;

40 Fig. 2 is a plan view much enlarged of a portion of the fabric;

Fig. 3 is a slightly enlarged plan view of the finished fabric, giving an idea of the relative size of the small hexagonal meshes therein; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relative movement of the guide bars employed for laying the threads for the fabric.

In carrying out the invention, I employ the Rashel machine, a well known type of knitting machine, the structure of which need not be described in detail, since no modification of the standard machine is necessary in producing the material hereinafter described. The Rashel machine is characterized by the provision of two ll guide bars carrying the threads on a single needle bar which is actuated by a double motion cam and a pair of chains consisting of links of different depth which, through suitable mechanism, control the movements of the guide bars, causing the needles to form the loops and consequently the knitted fabric. The links of the chains are designated by numbers in respect to their relative depth, and to form the product hereinafter described it is necessary to set up the chains with links according to a particular formula. When this formula is used, the machine automatically produces the desired result, that is to say, a fabric which is different from any heretofore manufactured on this or any other similar type of knitting machine. 15

The formula for the production of the material is, referring to Fig. 4, as follows:

Chain I.-2, 0, 0, 2, 2, 0, 2, 4, 4, 2, 2, 4;

Chain II.2, 2, 4, 4, 2, 2, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6.

In the above formula, Chain I indicates the N setting for the knitted warp threads, while Chain II indicates the setting for the in-laid or unknitted warp thread. With this formula, anyone familiar with a Rashel machine readily may set it up to produce the desired fabric.

The fabric is constructed preferably of rayon of the size known as denier. Threads of dif ferent gauge, from to 50 or even larger or or smaller, may be used, but for the production of netting of the most desirable type I prefer the 30 sizes indicated. Silk, cotton or other threads of corresponding sizes may be used in producing similar fabrics.

The fabric which is the subject matter of the present invention is characterized by a series of 36 warp threads formed into a series of knitted loops by the action of the knitting machine, with each series of loops having loops extending alternately at opposite sides and interlaced with the threads of parallel series of loops on both sides and with 40 unknitted warp threads interlaced with the loops of each series of knitted loops. The unknitted warp threads serve the purpose of maintaining the hexagonal form of the meshes when the fabric is removed from the machine, stretched 46 and finished.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 5 indicates the thread forming one of the series of knitted loops, and 6 a thread forming a parallel series of knitted loops. The latter is s tippled to dis- 50 tinguish it from the thread 5 for convenience of illustration. It will be understood that while two threads are illustrated, a multiplicity of such threads and corresponding series of loops are formed simultaneously as the fabric is knitted. I6

The thread I is formed into two loops 1 and I which are duplicated in the thread i at I and I. The next step produces a long loop I in the thread 8 which is duplicated in the thread 6 by the loop I. As indicated in the drawings, the loop 8 interlocks with the thread 6, forming thereby one side of the hexagonal mesh in the fabric. The thread then forms loops ll and II, which are duplicated in the thread i at II and II, and a long loop II, which is duplicated in the thread 8 at H. It will be noted that whereas the loop extends to the left to interlock with the thread i, the loop I! extends to the right to interlock with a parallel series of knitted lops (not shown), whereas the loop l2 extends to the right and interlocks with the thread 5, forming another side of the hexagonal mesh.

The thread 5 then repeats, forming loops l3, I4 and I6, which are duplicated in the thread 6 by loops i3, II and I5, and the operation continues with each series-interlocked with parallel series on both sides thereof by the respective loops 9, I, l2, l2, l5 and I5.

During the operation, the unknitted warp threads 16 and it, which are shaded for the purpose of clearer illustration, are carried through and interlocked with the loops as they are successively formed in the series, so that when the fabric is spread as shown in Fig. 1, the unknitted warp threads follow a zigzag course with the series of knitted loops as the latter are interlocked by the long loops 9, 9', I2, l2, l5 and IS, with the parallel series.

As indicated in Fig. 1, the threads and loops of the series form, when the fabric is spread, meshes of hexagonal form. It will be understood that in the knitting operation, the loops which are shown in Fig. l as loosely formed are, in fact, tightly drawn as indicated in Fig. 2, where the several threads cannot be readily distinguished, but in which the several meshes I], each of hexagonal form, constitute a continuous fabric.

The actual size of the meshes I1 is smaller than the size indicated in Fig. 3, and the fine gauge of the thread employed when the loops are tightly drawn gives the appearance of a fabric made in such a manner that the sides of the meshes seem to be constituted of a single thread. There are apparently in the finished fabric no knots of distinguishable size. The product is uniform with respect to the size and shape of the meshes, and the finished product so closely simulates the product of the lace machine that persons who are familiar with both products can scarcely distinguish them, although, as already indicated, the actual structure is totally different.

The fabric as described can be manufactured rapidly and economically by knitting in the manner indicated. It affords a complete and verysatisfactory substitute for the imported product in so far as appearance and other desirable qualities are concerned, and it canbe pmduced in this country at a price which permits competition with the imported product.

Various changes may be made in the details of the structure as described without departing from the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. A knitted fabric characterized by a uniform pattern of hexagonal meshes and consisting of a plurality of knitted warp threads each formed into a series of knitted loops with each series having loops extending alternately at opposite sides and interlocked with the series of knitted loops on the opposite sides thereof, and unknitted warp threads intermeshing with and running through each series of knitted loops.

2. A knitted fabric of threads corresponding in gauge to 150 to 50 denier rayon and simulated netting produced on lace machines characterized by a uniform pattern of hexagonal meshes and consisting of a plurality of knitted warp threads each formed into a series of knitted loops with each series having loops extending alternately at opposite sides and interlocked with the series of knitted loops on the opposite sides thereof, and unknitted warp threads intermeshing with and running through each series of knitted loops.

3. A knitted fabric characterized by a uniform pattern of hexagonal meshes, each hexagonal mesh comprising a pair of opposite sides formed of interlocked loops of a knitted warp thread, and an unknitted warp thread, one of each of the other pair of opposite sides of each hexagonal mesh comprising a loop of the knitted warp thread extending from one of said first-mentioned sides and embracing one of the warp threads forming the other of said first-mentioned sides, and the other of each of said other pair of opposite sides comprising a portion of the unknitted warp thread of said other of said first-mentioned sides and an unlooped portion of the knitted warp thread of said other of said first-mentioned sides.

4. A knitted fabric characterized by a uniform pattern of hexagonal meshes, each hexagonal mesh comprising a pair of opposite sides formed of interlocked single loops of a knitted warp thread, and an unknitted warp thread, one of each of the other pair of opposite sides of each hexagonal mesh consisting of a loop of the knitted warp thread extending from one of said firstmentioned sides and embracing the knitted warp thread of the other of said first-mentioned sides, and the other of each of said other pair of opposite sides consisting of a portion of the unknitted warp thread of said other of said firstmentioned sides and an unlooped portion of the knitted warp thread of said other of said firstmentioned sides.

AARON S, STAFF. 

